Truck tractors with air brakes built on or after March 1, 1997 must be equipped with Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS).

Air brakes consists of three separate braking systems: the service brake system, the parking brake system, and the emergency brake system.

Speeding traffic is the main cause of death and injury in work zones. Drive with special caution when traveling near road workers.

During the on-road driving skills test, you will be asked to pull your vehicle over to the side of the road and stop as if you were going to get out and check something on your vehicle. As you prepare to make this stop, you must check traffic; activate your turn signal; decelerate smoothly with even braking, changing gears as needed; and bring your vehicle to a full stop without coasting.

To remain aware of hazards behind your vehicle when backing, you should frequently check your mirrors on both sides of the vehicle. Have a helper watch your blind spots whenever possible.

A bus must always be inspected before it is driven. The inspection process must include a review of the inspection report made by the previous driver. You should operate the vehicle only if defects listed on the inspection report have been certified as repaired or as not needing to be repaired.

The emergency exit signs on a bus must always be clearly visible. The emergency door light must work properly, if applicable.

After a vehicle is started, the warning lights and buzzers should go out after a few seconds. If the warning signals do not turn off, there may be something wrong with the vehicle.

When stopping your CMV on the side of a highway, warning devices must be placed 10 feet, 100 feet, and 200 feet behind the vehicle.

While driving, you should continually scan the road to spot potential hazards in advance. Make emergency plans for how to deal with the hazards if they become dangerous.

If a tire fails, braking could cause a loss of control. Unless braking is necessary to avoid a hazard, you should stay off the brakes until your vehicle has slowed considerably. Only then should you brake very gently, pull off the road, and stop.

If approaching a drawbridge that is controlled by a traffic signal displaying a green light, you may slow down and proceed without stopping.

If your vehicle "pulls" to one side when braking, you may have brake trouble. If there is an issue with your brakes, you should fix the issue before driving. Operating an unsafe vehicle is against federal and state laws.

Rust around wheel nuts may mean that they are loose. Check the tightness of the nuts if you see any rust in the area.

When driving a school bus, you must activate your four-way flashers while approaching and crossing a railroad crossing. Deactivate the flashers once your entire vehicle has cleared the tracks.

During the basic vehicle control skills test, you must place the vehicle in neutral and set the parking brake before exiting the vehicle to check its position. You may check the position of the vehicle no more than twice, except during the straight line backing exercise, where you may look no more than once.

If steering begins to feel heavy, it is likely that one of your front tires has failed. If you feel a change to your steering, you should exit the road as quickly as is safely possible and check your tires.

You should always make sure that your vehicle will be able to stop within the area of the road that you are able to see. This means that you must slow down whenever conditions reduce visibility.

When performing a static leakage test on a triple combination vehicle with air brakes, the leakage rate should be no more than 5 psi in one minute. If air leaks from the air brake system at a quicker rate, the vehicle should not be driven because something likely needs to be repaired.

Potential problems to check for when inspecting brakes include cracked drums; shoes or pads with oil, grease, or brake fluid on them; and shoes that are missing, broken, or worn dangerously thin.